The nine worst team upheavals in recent history

Winnipeg Jets — the Evander Kane situation

Just this season, the Winnipeg Jets dealt with a little bit of drama. Their top forward, Evander Kane, chose not to play a game after he continuely did not answer his phone. His refusal stemmed from an incident earlier that day. Kane showed up to a team meeting in a tracksuit. While he was either getting treatment or working out, his tracksuit was thrown in the shower, reportedly by teammate Dustin Byfuglien. Kane chose to end his season with surgery on his shoulder, and within a matter of days, the Jets sent Kane and Zach Bogosian to the Buffalo Sabres for Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia and a 2015 first-round pick.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY SportsJerome Miron

1

San Jose Sharks — Joe Thornton vs. Doug Wilson

During the 2014 offseason, the Sharks began an awkward relationship with Joe Thornton. San Jose stripped him of his captaincy and said it wanted to "re-establish" the culture within the Sharks organization. But things got really juicy when general manager Doug Wilson told a group of season-ticket holders that the reason Thornton was stripped of his captaincy was because the stress became too much for him. What was Thornton's answer? He told his general manager he needed to "shut his mouth." The two have publicly made up, but after a failure of a season, the foreseeable future is laced with drama.

Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY SportsMarc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

2

Chicago Bears — Jay Cutler's failure

Last season was one to forget for the Bears quarterback. His 18 interceptions co-led the NFL, but the real embarrassment occured in the locker room. Chicago offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer blamed Cutler's play calling and audibles for the Bears' failure. Cutler was then benched in favor of backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen after throwing three interceptions in a single game. Clausen went down with a concussion, and Cutler was back in his starting position for the last game of a sad, sad season. Since then, NFL fans have been able to collectively point and laugh at Cutler seemingly every single week, whether it's because of trade rumors, or, more recently, the news that no one bid on a Cutler-signed ball for charity.

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3

Miami Dolphins — Richie Incognito bullies Jonathan Martin

One of the more odd off-field incidents in the NFL in recent years was Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito's 2013 bullying of teammate Jonathan Martin. Martin was repeatedly called derogatory names and sent hateful messages and repeatedly heard sexually graphic comments from Incognito referring to Martin's sister. Incognito was suspended for three months and signed with the Buffalo Bills in February 2015. Martin walked away from the Miami Dophins, was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, who released him, and is now a member of the Carolina Panthers.

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4

New Orleans Saints — Bountygate

In 2012, the NFL's security department found that the Saints had organized a bounty payment system within their defense. Payments were issued for injuring players throughout the season. A recording of Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was discovered, in which he said "kill the head and the body will die," referring to 49ers running back Frank Gore. Williams, recorded saying many other threatening things, was suspended indefinitely, head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the year, and four players received lengthy suspensions later vacated by the NFL. The team was also fined $500,000 and lost several draft picks. The Saints went 7-9 that season, missing the playoffs.

Getty ImagesChris Graythen

5

Philadelphia Eagles — the Terrell Owens saga

Everywhere Terrell Owens went during his 15-year NFL career, cameras tended to follow. Owens was capable of saying and doing anything at virtually any moment. But his 2004 and '05 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles grew progressively more toxic. He referred to the Eagles as a classless organization, said they would be better off with Brett Favre at quarterback instead of Donovan McNabb and even wore a Michael Irvin Cowboys jersey following a loss to the Cowboys. He was suspended in November of 2005 for four games and later deactivated from the team. He then signed with Dallas.

Getty ImagesAl Messerschmidt

6

Los Angeles Clippers — Donald Sterling's racist remarks

In 2014, the billionaire owner was forced to sell the Clippers after a recorded conversation with female friend V. Stiviano that revealed racist comments was released to the public. Sterling's team, in the heat of a playoff series, protested by wearing its practice uniforms inside out, to hide the Clippers logo from view. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and many others spoke out against Sterling. The owner received a lifetime ban and eventually was forced to sell the team to Steve Ballmer.

NBAE/Getty ImagesAndrew D. Bernstein

7

UNC — academics in athletics

The University of North Carolina is currently involved in a massive investigation involving alleged academic fraud. Accusations include altered transcripts, athletes getting credit for taking classes that don't exist and failure to deem certain players academically inelligble, which was possibly the case for star defensive lineman and basketball player Julius Peppers, who reportedly had a 1.82 GPA during his time as a Tar Heel from 1999-2001. Sanctions and a reduction in wins may be in UNC's future.

Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY SportsMark Dolejs

8

Boston Red Sox — collapse of epic proportions

The 2011 Boston Red Sox were an absolute mess. They were the first team in MLB history to have a nine-game lead in September and fail to make the playoffs. And as the losses kept piling up (20 in the final month), so did the stories. It was rumored that manager Terry Francona couldn't control his team and seemed to lose motivation after struggling with marital problems. The team had little leadership. Boston's best player, Jacoby Ellsbury, didn't get along with his teammates. And, most memorably, starting pitchers Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey allegedly drank beer, ate fried chicken and played video games in the dugout on their off days.